Affordable Dinnerware for Hosting First Holiday Dinner?

Q: I will be hosting my first holiday dinner this year, and I'm in desperate need for nice dinnerware. Being on a tight budget (as in, poor grad student budget) means I dont have a lot to shell out for all the serving and dinnerware (and yes, I need both dinnerware and serving dishes). So far, I have only found Targets "First Frost" Porcelain sets and platter to be affordable (and attractive/ festive). Any chance you can compile more options that are within with $150 range? I'd really appreciate it!

Sent by Sarah

Editor: Sarah, we'll be blogging tabletop and entertaining solutions all throughout the coming month, but throwing your question out to the readers is a great place to start. Bargain hunters, please add your suggestions for affordable dinner and servingware to the comments below for Sarah...thanks!